Kuki groups urge Centre to reconsider decision to scrap Free Movement Regime, Meitei groups welcome move

Guwahati: Kuki organisations in Manipur on Thursday urged the Centre to reconsider its decision to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the border with Myanmar while CMs of BJP-ruled Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh called it a historic move to check illegal immigration.

"The decision will hurt the sentiments of many people in Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram. This will further divide the communities living on both sides. We are only divided by an international boundary imposed by the British. The people and lands remain the same. By fencing the border, the government will only create another Berlin Wall," said Ginza Vualzong, spokesperson of Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), a forum of Kuki organisations in conflict-hit Manipur. "We request the government to reconsider the decision on FMR."

Zo United, a forum of the Kuki-Zo communities, said that Home Minister Amit Shah's decision to end the FMR and fence the border contradicts the Centre's Act East Policy of opening the country's Northeast for the Southeast Asian nations.

The FMR, which allows local ethnic communities to cross the border and visit within 16 km on both sides without a visa, was made part of the Act East Policy of the Narendra Modi government in 2018. The free movement, however, was in practice since 1948 and before.

But Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the MHA decided to scrap the FMR to ensure internal security and maintain the demographic structure of the Northeast. Shah on Tuesday also announced the decision to fence the entire 1,643km border with Myanmar, which has remained open, barring a stretch of 10kms in Manipur.

The decision came after repeated demands by the Manipur government and the majority Meitei community. The demand grew amid the ethnic conflict involving the Meiteis and the Kukis. Meitei organisations claim that the open border and the FMR is being misused by insurgent groups and Kuki migrants from Myanmar to settle in Manipur and carry out "anti-India activities." Kukis, Nagas and Mizos, however, are against the move.

CMs welcome:

Manipur CM N Biren Singh and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu welcomed the decision, saying it would help to curb illegal migration from Myanmar and maintain national security. Scrapping the FMR and fencing the border with Myanmar was one of the major demands by the Meitei organisations to restore peace in the state, where more than 200 people have died since May last year.

Terming it a historic decision, R K Imo Singh, a BJP MLA from Manipur, said the Centre has taken some "positive steps" to bring peace and protect the indigenous people of the state. He said the government also started identification of the "illegal migrants" through a drive to collect biometrics. "This is a step towards having a NRC," he posted on social media after Shah's announcement.

On Thursday, Kuki groups, however, reiterated their demand to create a "separate administration" for the Kuki-Zo-Hmars in Manipur to end the ongoing conflict.